What Is the Difference Between SEO and PPC?

If you’re trying to find ways to drive more traffic to your website, you’re probably seeing information about SEO and PPC. Before you commit to either one of these options, you should understand what each of them are. Knowing the difference between SEO and PPC can help you to find the best technique for your site.

What Is SEO?

SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization. According to Search Engine Land, “It is the process of getting traffic from the “free,” “organic,” “editorial” or “natural” search results on search engines.” This traffic comes from search engines like Bing, Google, and Yahoo.

What is PPC?

PPC is the acronym for pay-per-click. According to Wordstream, it is “a model of internet marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Essentially, it’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically.”

What Are the Benefits of Using PPC or SEO for Your Website?

Both PPC and SEO are types of search marketing. They are used to bring traffic to your website, which can then increase your page views or your sales. The search engines will display your website in the results. They will use either one of the techniques.

By using these techniques, your website, shop, or business has the opportunity to grow. According to Josuha Belland, a Houston SEO expert, if you attempt to drive traffic to your website without using PPC or SEO, you will not see much success. You will be able to grow your website much more quickly by using SEO or PPC.

Using SEO is a way to add more credibility to your website as well. If a searcher sees your link near the top of the list, they will be likely to click on it.

What is the Difference Between SEO and PPC?

There are a handful of differences between SEO and PPC. For example, SEO doesn’t involve payment. There is no money tied to how websites appear on a search engine when SEO is being used.

PPC is more money-based, as websites pay each time somebody clicks on their link in a list of results. Of course, there is the hope that this will then result in revenue from a purchase on the website.

Of course, you will be paying for either option. You can’t get advertising like this for free. SEO costs aren’t associated with people clicking on their links, and their links don’t appear as ads.

Note that PPC shows up in a separate section within a list of search engine results. The results will look slightly different than the standard results. Most searchers can spot this difference, and some will choose to scroll beyond the PPC links. The links that come after the PPC ones are the links that have been created using SEO.

PPC is very strong in that it is fast and has the capabilities to continue expanding. SEO can be somewhat slower, but it can be more effective long-term. If you’re looking for flexibility, you should go with PPC. If you want more overall success, you should use SEO.

In the long run, SEO proves to be better for driving searchers to your website. Both options can be helpful in increasing the overall traffic, but SEO generally works better.

Which One Works Better?

The results of each option can vary. You might find it helpful to try each one for a little while and see how it goes.

According to New Media Campaigns, SEO results can gain 8.5x more attention than PPC results. PPC results look a little bit different when they show up in a list of search engine results, so some searchers try to avoid them.

On the other hand, New Media Campaigns also shares that “paid search results are 1.5x more likely to convert click thrus from the search engine.”

Still, SEO tends to be a better choice for most websites. When it comes down to it, more traffic can be directed to your website if you use SEO. There are instances where PPC can be beneficial. SEO is usually more useful.

If you have the choice, you will find more success and a better value if you use SEO on a search marketing standpoint. It’s more cost-effective. You will find that over time your website will flourish with SEO.

In most cases, you will find that PPC works best for selling products and SEO works best for selling services. This can vary by the company and their particular needs.

In short, SEO is where traffic is sent to your website from search engines. This traffic doesn’t bring any money to your website from the search alone. PPC is where users click on your link and you have to pay per click. Both are effective types of search marketing, but SEO works best for most websites.